Blog

A sixteen year old girl suffering from adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) was operated on September 4th by Dr. Ferrandez with the assistance of Dr. Nick Sekouris, an orthopedic surgeon from the Orthopedic Medical Center in Athens, and member of the ApiFix implantation group from the very beginning. The patient was discharged from Hospital less than 48 hours later with no discomfort. She had a 52º lumbar curve and a prominent thoracic hump which flattened immediately after lumbar surgery. The curve went down to 27º and bleeding or muscle distress were minimal during and after surgery.

ApiFix allow adolescents with flexible curves to undergo surgery with low risk, low discomfort and high postoperative mobility. The system is capable of keeping the grade of correction the patients are able to gain by themselves. Some exercises started three weeks after surgery allow the device to lengthen telescopically, increasing the initial intraoperative correction.

Dr. Sekouris, based on his own experience, mentioned that correction is maintained even though the implant is removed, if it has remained implanted time enough. “This kind of device should be used in every eligible case, as the benefits clearly overcome any drawbacks, including cost”, he stated.

Chilean Dr. Lolas' theories on the infectious origin of Premenstrual Syndrome and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder have been summed up in an article now published by the northamerican Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Our team is treating PMS patients following this approach since october 2014, and has proven its success and permanent results in more than 40 women treated so far.

iespalda.com is a web project cofounded by Dr. Ferrandez, one of our Spine Consultants. As exercise is being trusted more and more every day as the only real cure for spinal disorders, many Spine Centers are including personal training programs as a maynstay for better outcomes. At iespalda.com, spine patients can find and download high quality exercise protocols developed by graduates in physical activity and physiotherapists. Recovering from surgery or hopefully avoiding it highly depends on willpower, though you always have the oportunity to hire a personal trainer who "forces" you to work. At the moment this service is only in Spanish, but after the beta phase it will probably become available in english as well.

Our Medical Team travels to Chicago for the AAOS symposium. A meeting with SpineMark representatives is scheduled, as well as with different spine surgeons from the US and Europe. First contact with Mazor Robotics, the first company developing a robotic arm for spine surgery, is also in the agenda.

SpineMark, the Californian company for networking of spinal centers is trying to establish in Spain. Marcy Rogers forsees great business oportunities in the country, as northamerican regulations make it harder for medical device companies and doctors to develop new implants or techniques. Spain is an ideal environment in Europe for scientific trials, implant testing and medical tourism. Medical services meet the highest standards, local doctors are well trained and regulations allow for foreing doctors to practise under certain criteria.

Dr. Akbarnia was invited for a presentation and surgical discussion within the context of SpineMark's new venture in Spain. He talked about his recently tested magnetic growing rod for early onset scoliosis, as well as new approaches to spine deformities in elderly patients.

Last 16/4/2012 Dr. Ferrández was invited to Hospital San Jose (Vitoria. Spain) in order to perform a XLIF surgery with collegues from that Centre. The patient was a young male who got fusion surgery in two upper lumbar discs, being discharged 18h after the procedure with just a 4 cm wound on the left flank.

Dr. Ferrández was invited for a conference and surgical demonstration about XLIF in Zaragoza. Some Spanish surgeons met at the “Miguel Servet” University Hospital for a first contact with this technique. An elder patient was operated on for degenerative lumbar scoliosis, which could succesfully be corrected by using this minimally invasive approach.

Dr. Ferrández presented the OLIF approach to lumbar spine (oblique lumbar approach), a less aggresive option in revision surgery for patients previously operated in the lumbar spine. After the presentation, he performed a surgical demo about the use of a new generation of cement-free pedicle screws for osteoporotic patients, by SpineNature. Surgery was broadcasted through the TVCC for a specialised audience in the Meeting Room at Clínica Vistahermosa (Alicante).

Our Spine expert Dr. Ferrandez performed 2 exhibition surgeries to demonstrate the high corrective capabilities of this recent minimally invasive approach known as XLIF. It allows that severe lumbar deformities in elder patients can be approached with very limited damage to healthy tissues. This new technique certainly widens the range of age of patients with spinal degenerative deformities who can be admitted for corrective surgery.

The following X-ray slides show how the patients’s lumbar spine gets straightened after four wedges have been implanted in between the affected vertebrae into the concavity of the curve.